Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Inventories at U.S. wholesalers rose
less than forecast in November as distributors struggled to keep
up with demand, a sign gains in manufacturing will keep the
economy growing.

The 0.1 percent increase in inventories followed a 1.2
percent revised gain in October, Commerce Department figures
showed today in Washington. Economists projected a 0.5 percent
rise, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News
survey. Sales climbed 0.6 percent in November.

Wholesalers kept enough goods on hand to last 1.15 months
at the current sales pace, close to the record low of 1.13
months reached in March last year. More spending on holiday
items after stockpiles were drawn down in the third quarter may
have encouraged manufacturers to boost output as 2011 drew to a
close.

“We expect some rebuilding in the fourth quarter, and
actually quite a substantial boost” to growth from inventories,
Aneta Markowska, a senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale in
New York, said before the report. “Demand has been pretty good
in the fourth quarter, though the momentum peaked early in the
quarter.”

The median projection for wholesale inventories was based
on a survey of 29 economists whose estimates ranged from a 0.1
percent decline to a 1 percent gain. The October reading was
revised from a previously reported 1.6 percent increase.

Stocks rallied, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to
the highest level in five months, on speculation China may act
to spur growth. The S&P 500 advanced 1.1 percent to 1,294.52 at
10:22 a.m. in New York.

Durable Goods

Wholesalers’ stockpiles of durable goods, or those meant to
last several years, increased 0.1 percent in November, led by
electrical equipment and machinery, today’s report showed.
Inventories of automobiles fell 1.7 percent, the biggest drop
since April.

Gross domestic product climbed at a 1.8 percent annual rate
from July through September, Commerce Department figures showed
last month. Inventories were cut at a $2 billion annual rate,
subtracting 1.35 percentage points from growth. It was the first
time stockpiles were trimmed since the last three months of
2009.

Output Boost

Fewer inventories may have led producers to boost output in
the final months of 2011.

Toyota Motor Corp., following last year’s supply-chain
disruptions caused by Japan’s March earthquake, is working to
rebuild its inventory of autos in the North America market as it
sees sales growing.

“We begin 2012 with high expectations, based on a
strengthening economy, inventories that are rapidly approaching
normal levels, but most of all, an influx of more new and
updated products,” Jim Lentz, the Toyota City, Japan-based
company’s U.S. sales chief, said on a Jan. 4 conference call.

Wholesalers make up about 30 percent of all business
stockpiles. Factory inventories, which comprise about 38 percent
of the total, grew 0.5 percent in November, the Commerce
Department said Jan. 4. Retail stockpiles, which make up the
rest, will be included in the Jan. 12 business inventory report.